1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to systems and methods for managing workflow.
2. Background of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to workflow management tools. Workflow management or project management software enables users to specify tasks, ordering of tasks, define reminders for the completion of tasks, and take other actions to record progress of a project and plan activities needed to complete a project. However, these tools are desktop based and are ill suited for remote workers in the field and other distributed work forces.
The capabilities of mobile phones have increased significantly and many may have the capacity to operate task management tools but are unsuitable due to their small screen size and limited battery life. Mobile phones do advantageously enable rapid communication among remote workers by means of various OTT (over the top) data messaging services such as Skype, messaging protocols such as XMPP, and mobile messaging protocols and services such as short message service (SMS), multimedia message service (MMS), and enhanced message service (EMS) messaging. However, the limited capabilities of the interfaces for these channels are not readily used for workflow management functions. Other messaging protocols exist for exchanging messages between desktop or laptop computers, such as email and various instant messaging protocols. These likewise provided limited capacity for managing workflow management functions.
The systems and methods disclosed herein provide an improved approach for performing workflow management using messaging protocols for both mobile and other computing devices.